Health experts are bracing for Zika virus to spread to the United States by April or May, borne by a mosquito that craves human blood, feeds during the day and lives under beds and inside closets.

Until now, the best weapon against disease-carrying mosquitoes in the United States has been outdoor pesticide fog sprayed by truck and airplane. But health experts fear the typical approach will do little to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that carries Zika.

Though there could be localized U.S. outbreaks, most likely along the Gulf Coast, federal officials said they hope the wide use of air conditioning, window screens and regular garbage collection will mitigate the risk.

The World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency this week after evidence linking the virus to microcephaly, a devastating birth defect that can cause unusually small heads and permanent brain damage. Brazil has reported 3,700 suspected cases of microcephaly. The outbreak is now affecting at least 25 countries and territories, most of them in Latin American and the Caribbean, and could infect up to 4 million people in the Americas, according to the WHO.

More than 30 people in the United States have been confirmed to have Zika after traveling to an affected country. There has been one report of transmission within the United States, but experts believe that will increase as the weather warms up, the local mosquito population multiplies and many more travelers return to the country.

The link between the virus and microcephaly has not been established. But in general, it is hardly surprising that invasive species will cause damage given a warming climate and international trade. Even here in the UK, generally considered a tad too cool for most insects, diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are becoming a concern.

The link between the virus and microcephaly has not been established. But in general, it is hardly surprising that invasive species will cause damage given a warming climate and international trade. Even here in the UK, generally considered a tad too cool for most insects, diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are becoming a concern.

Click to expand...

Trade shouldn't be a problem. Real globalization would have redundant factories worldwide, just email schematics over to that company's factory. That saves a jet trip or two. Shipping across the ocean would also be reduced, just use existing rail and other eco-friendlier means. Apple has indeed been doing some of this by opening up factories in the US for product assembly. Kudos, in absolute sincerity...

The link between the virus and microcephaly has not been established. But in general, it is hardly surprising that invasive species will cause damage given a warming climate and international trade. Even here in the UK, generally considered a tad too cool for most insects, diseases transmitted by mosquitoes are becoming a concern.

Click to expand...

Don't know about "warming" ... Malaria for instance has been raging in much of the 3rd world this past century without being much of a factor at all in developed nations.
The prime factor here is open borders and letting 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of illegal aliens trample over our borders and roam around practically unregulated or monitored.

Don't know about "warming" ... Malaria for instance has been raging in much of the 3rd world this past century without being much of a factor at all in developed nations.
The prime factor here is open borders and letting 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of illegal aliens trample over our borders and roam around practically unregulated or monitored.

Click to expand...

And allowing nice white US citizens to copulate with the benighted, dusky peoples of South America, of course. I'm surprised you're not calling for the return of miscegenation laws.

The prime factor here is open borders and letting 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of illegal aliens trample over our borders and roam around practically unregulated or monitored.

Click to expand...

Considering that vaccinations percentages are well within the mid-high 90 range south of the border, easily putting them on par with the US, illegal immigrants spreading preventable diseases about is probably one thing you don't have to worry about them doing.

Don't know about "warming" ... Malaria for instance has been raging in much of the 3rd world this past century without being much of a factor at all in developed nations.
The prime factor here is open borders and letting 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of illegal aliens trample over our borders and roam around practically unregulated or monitored.

Click to expand...

Yep we should be checking the passports on those mosquitos when they cross the border.

The prime factor here is open borders and letting 100,000's if not 1,000,000's of illegal aliens trample over our borders and roam around practically unregulated or monitored.

Click to expand...

It is difficult for me sometimes to know if people such as yourself are being facetious - or if you actually believe the nonsense that you write.

You hypothesis is absurd. For any number of reasons. But lets start with basic numbers: The level of illegal immigration has actually declined under the Obama Administration - after climbing rapidly in the prior decades.

Not only are fewer illegal aliens entering the US; more of them are being deported under the Obama administration. (Please note that this policy has not been without its criticisms.) So the evidence linking the Zika virus with President Obama's policies, is founded upon a fundamental lie Conservatives keep telling themselves.

Communicable diseases periodically break out in worldwide epidemics. That is a simple fact, no just of epidemiology, but pure biology. At best, the Government of the United States can attempt to counter the effects of these diseases. Witness the US' decision to send special units of the US Army to West Africa to help contain the Ebola virus in 2014. But I would remind you that SARS epidemic took place in 2002-2003, during the Presidency of George W. Bush. There are a number of issues a reasonable person might have with GW Bush as President. But I don't believe anyone seriously blamed him for SARS.

It is difficult for me sometimes to know if people such as yourself are being facetious - or if you actually believe the nonsense that you write.

You hypothesis is absurd. For any number of reasons. But lets start with basic numbers: The level of illegal immigration has actually declined under the Obama Administration - after climbing rapidly in the prior decades.

Not only are fewer illegal aliens entering the US; more of them are being deported under the Obama administration.

Click to expand...

Note I said "South America" and not just "Mexico" of whom there are already easily over 10,000,000 living illegally in the USA.

In a shocking reversal of policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are being told to release illegal immigrants and no longer order them to appear at deportation hearings, essentially a license to stay in the United States, a key agent testified Thursday.

What's more, the stand down order includes a requirement that the whereabouts of illegals released are not to be tracked.

El Salvador and Honduras are locked in an unholy race for the world’s highest homicide rate, with surging crime and drug violence across the region threatening to trigger an even larger surge of migrants seeking to get into the United States.

More than 17,000 homicides were recorded across the three nations of Central America’s “Northern Triangle” — El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala — in 2015, an 11 percent jump from a year earlier, according to preliminary statistics from local police agencies released last week.

Although the northward flow of migrants from Mexico to the U.S. has dropped in recent years, the numbers have soared from the crime-ridden countries to Mexico’s south, fueling a widening crisis for the Obama administration and heated criticism from presidential contenders on both the left and the right.

Nearly 10 percent the triangle’s 30 million residents fled their homes over the past decade. Most have found their way northward, according to an analysis last year by the Council on Foreign Relations, which said the number of people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras living in the U.S. leapt from 1.5 million in 2000 to as many as 2.7 million in 2013. More than 1.2 million of them are in the country illegally, according to estimates.

In just the past two years, more than 100,000 unaccompanied children, and nearly as many mothers and children traveling together, have been caught sneaking into the U.S. along the southwestern border. An increasing number are making claims of asylum, saying they have fled for their lives and face a real danger of being killed if they return to their homes.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...duras-guatemala-violence-surges-thr/?page=all

Illegal immigration from Central America is setting a record pace, with nearly 40,000 families and children traveling alone being caught on the southwest border in just the first three months of the fiscal year, according to new Border Patrol numbers.

In December alone nearly 9,000 family members were caught — a staggering 38 percent increase compared to November, and by far the highest total ever for the last month of the year. Border Patrol agents also nabbed another 6,800 children traveling alone, which was a 21 percent increase over November.

I don't suppose containing the swarming flow of natives over our borders who are bringing it in in the first place has entered his head - As usual, throw taxpayer $$ at the problem and hope it goes away.

Obama asking Congress for emergency funding to combat Zika

President Barack Obama is asking Congress for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus and the mosquitoes that spread it here and abroad, but says "there shouldn't be a panic on this."

The virus is spreading rapidly through Latin America. While most people experience either mild or no symptoms, Zika is suspected of causing a devastating birth defect — babies born with abnormally small heads — and pregnant Americans are urged to avoid travel to affected areas.

U.S. health officials say the money is critical for research into the birth defect known as microcephaly. They also want to speed development of a vaccine and better diagnostic tests, and expand mosquito control programs. Some of the money would also aid Zika-stricken countries and territories.

"What we now know is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women and women who are thinking about having a baby," Obama said in an interview aired Monday on "CBS This Morning."

And while experts don't expect large outbreaks in the continental U.S., the emergency funding also would help them prepare for any local transmission as spring and summer approach. The administration is seeking the Zika money separately from the regular budget for the next fiscal year, which Obama will submit to Congress on Tuesday.

Right, because we should expect our doctors and scientists to work pro bono for the betterment of humanity, or wait patiently until a private organization takes up the reigns. OUR GOVERNMENT IS TOO DAMN LARGE! THIS IS NOT WHAT OUR FOUNDERS INTENDED!

In a shocking reversal of policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are being told to release illegal immigrants and no longer order them to appear at deportation hearings, essentially a license to stay in the United States, a key agent testified Thursday.

What's more, the stand down order includes a requirement that the whereabouts of illegals released are not to be tracked.

El Salvador and Honduras are locked in an unholy race for the world’s highest homicide rate, with surging crime and drug violence across the region threatening to trigger an even larger surge of migrants seeking to get into the United States.

More than 17,000 homicides were recorded across the three nations of Central America’s “Northern Triangle” — El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala — in 2015, an 11 percent jump from a year earlier, according to preliminary statistics from local police agencies released last week.

Although the northward flow of migrants from Mexico to the U.S. has dropped in recent years, the numbers have soared from the crime-ridden countries to Mexico’s south, fueling a widening crisis for the Obama administration and heated criticism from presidential contenders on both the left and the right.

Nearly 10 percent the triangle’s 30 million residents fled their homes over the past decade. Most have found their way northward, according to an analysis last year by the Council on Foreign Relations, which said the number of people from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras living in the U.S. leapt from 1.5 million in 2000 to as many as 2.7 million in 2013. More than 1.2 million of them are in the country illegally, according to estimates.

In just the past two years, more than 100,000 unaccompanied children, and nearly as many mothers and children traveling together, have been caught sneaking into the U.S. along the southwestern border. An increasing number are making claims of asylum, saying they have fled for their lives and face a real danger of being killed if they return to their homes.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...duras-guatemala-violence-surges-thr/?page=all

Illegal immigration from Central America is setting a record pace, with nearly 40,000 families and children traveling alone being caught on the southwest border in just the first three months of the fiscal year, according to new Border Patrol numbers.

In December alone nearly 9,000 family members were caught — a staggering 38 percent increase compared to November, and by far the highest total ever for the last month of the year. Border Patrol agents also nabbed another 6,800 children traveling alone, which was a 21 percent increase over November.

But oh yeah ... Move along, nothing to see here !

Click to expand...

Wasn't this thread about the Zika virus?

Don't hurt your back moving the goal posts. Although, if you do get hurt, it's probably covered under Obamacare...

Don't hurt your back moving the goal posts. Although, if you do get hurt, it's probably covered under Obamacare...

Click to expand...

Can't you follow a thread without your hand being held, or you just have selective vision ?
A poster contended the USA has no illegal immigration problem, that was my response to that. This virus, like other recent ones before, is being carried in by foreign aliens, so no not quite off topic.

As far as health care, you will be pleased to know that I've had my very own coverage since the age of 18 due entirely to my own efforts, and was insured before that due to the efforts of my parents. Might surprise you to know, not everyone needs or wants to to be carried these days.

MacRumors attracts a broad audience
of both consumers and professionals interested in
the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on
purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.